'I wish one day he could be in my position': Gautam Gambhir reacts to Instagram exchange with MS Dhoni

India head coach Gautam Gambhir recently spoke about his brief social media exchange with former India captain MS Dhoni after India’s victory in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 final in Ahmedabad.

Dhoni had congratulated the Indian team after the historic win and also made a light-hearted comment about Gambhir on Instagram. “Coach Sahab smile looks great on you, intensity with smile is a killer combo, very well done. Enjoy guys,” Dhoni wrote.

A few hours later, Gambhir replied to the post with a short message. “And what a reason to smile, great seeing you!” he commented. The exchange quickly went viral amongst fans, who enjoyed seeing the two former teammates joking with each other on a public platform.

Gambhir's reaction to Dhoni's post

Speaking about the exchange during the RevSportz sports conclave in Kolkata on Monday, Gambhir said he appreciated Dhoni’s message and also made a humorous remark about it.

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“Good on him to come and watch the World Cup final. Good on him to ask me to smile, and I wish one day he could be in my position, and I can write the same thing, and hopefully, he can smile from the dugout,” Gambhir said.

Gambhir played a large part of his international career under Dhoni’s captaincy and was part of several important victories for India, including the title win at the inaugural T20 World Cup 2007 and the Cricket World Cup 2011.

However, relations soured between the two after Gambhir's retirement from international cricket, as he reportedly felt that Dhoni was behind his axing. Gambhir has also criticised the media on several ocassions for giving all the credit for India’s World Cup wins in 2007 and 2011 to just one person, apparently Dhoni.

Meanwhile, Dhoni is still part of the game as a player and will come out of his break for the upcoming IPL 2026 season. The 44-year-old is expected to play for Chennai Super Kings despite injury concerns.